How to achieve dynamic stability in times of climate change
Agroforestry systems increase soil fertility and its water storage capacity, they promote biodiversity and reduce pest pressure, they also improve food security and protect our climate through increased CO2 sequestration. The ECOTOP Foundation shows how the principle of dynamic agroforestry can be successfully implemented in different climate zones – even in the barren highlands of the Andes.
Joachim Milz, Director of the ECOTOP Foundation, explains the principle of dynamic agroforestry in a workshop at Rapunzel Naturkost.
The Fundación ECOTOP provides advice and project work in sustainable agroforestry. She originally developed this method further in the tropical rainforests of Bolivia: in the cultivation of organic cocoa and to reforest and sustainably utilise depleted rainforest soils.
ECOTOP also demonstrates how the method can be successfully transferred to other climate zones – for example in the temperate climate of Central Europe, but also in the dry Andean highlands in the sustainable cultivation of organic quinoa.
Dynamic agroforestry consciously approaches the natural system with its diverse plants and interactions. Such systems have a dynamic stability. This not only minimises the pressure from pests and diseases. But it also contributes to the diversity of the products produced and, as a CO2 sink, to climate protection.
ECOTOP also demonstrates how the method can be successfully transferred to other climate zones – for example in the temperate climate of Central Europe, but also in the dry Andean highlands in the sustainable cultivation of organic quinoa.
Dynamic agroforestry consciously approaches the natural system with its diverse plants and interactions. Such systems have a dynamic stability. This not only minimises the pressure from pests and diseases. But it also contributes to the diversity of the products produced and, as a CO2 sink, to climate protection.
Serendipalm/Dr. Bronner's
Smallholder farmers in Ghana: ECOTOP has also provided advice on the implementation of agroforestry in the cultivation of bio-fair palm oil.
Our support
Quinoa grows in the rough Andean highlands up to an altitude of 4,000 metres. The increasing demand throughout the world for this nutritious pseudo-cereal is creating new income opportunities for the local people, which is a blessing for the economically underdeveloped highland regions. At the same time, the quinoa boom has also started placing excessive demands on the fragile soils of the Andean highlands.
ECOTOP, supported by Rapunzel Naturkost and others, has been carrying out field trials and educational work in favour of ecological and regenerative quinoa cultivation for several years. In 2023, the RAPUNZEL One World Organic Foundation approved three years of funding to enable these measures to be implemented in two communities in the southern Bolivian highlands.
Demo field with quinoa: The principle of mixed cultivation can also be successfully applied in the harsh highlands of the Andes.
The aim is to apply methods of dynamic agroforestry to restore the ecosystems, increase the fertility of the soil, and protect it from wind erosion. At the same time, one aim is to make cultivation more resilient in the face of changing climatic conditions such as longer frosts, increasing winds and droughts. It is particularly important to sensitise young people in the two communities and to empower them with new forms of self-organisation.
Measures include the diversification of the ecosystem through the cultivation of thola and other native shrubs. Specially established nurseries offer the plants. Mixed cultivation with vegetables, pulses and fodder crops further strengthens the cultivation systems and improves the nutritional situation of the local people. Biomass is introduced to increase soil fertility. New technologies complement the measures, for example a hole digger for planting seedlings makes the use of a plough unnecessary and thus better protects the soil from erosion. The water balance and fauna also benefit from the changes in cultivation and landscaping.
Measures include the diversification of the ecosystem through the cultivation of thola and other native shrubs. Specially established nurseries offer the plants. Mixed cultivation with vegetables, pulses and fodder crops further strengthens the cultivation systems and improves the nutritional situation of the local people. Biomass is introduced to increase soil fertility. New technologies complement the measures, for example a hole digger for planting seedlings makes the use of a plough unnecessary and thus better protects the soil from erosion. The water balance and fauna also benefit from the changes in cultivation and landscaping.
In the first year of the project (from mid-2023), the measures had to be adjusted due to persistent extreme weather events. Nevertheless, ECOTOP has already successfully implemented a number of project steps in both municipalities. This includes awareness-raising measures and training, tree and shrub planting and the creation of demonstration fields based on the principles of dynamic agroforestry.
“We have grown 5,000 quinoa seedlings and 7,000 seedlings of native species such as thola and paja, as well as 900 seedlings of introduced tree species – such as elms, poplars, pines and others,” explains Luis Walter Lohse Perales, ECOTOP project manager. “The most remarkable success of the first year is the change in attitude of many community members towards their environment and in favour of sustainable quinoa production and ecosystem recovery. This also boosts motivation for the upcoming project phases.”
“We have grown 5,000 quinoa seedlings and 7,000 seedlings of native species such as thola and paja, as well as 900 seedlings of introduced tree species – such as elms, poplars, pines and others,” explains Luis Walter Lohse Perales, ECOTOP project manager. “The most remarkable success of the first year is the change in attitude of many community members towards their environment and in favour of sustainable quinoa production and ecosystem recovery. This also boosts motivation for the upcoming project phases.”
To achieve a truly sustainable impact, ECOTOP also attaches great importance to educating children and young people.
The highlands of the Andes: Sustainable cultivation requires soil protection, for example through shrub cover, mixed crops and protected areas.
Overview of our previous support
From 2014 to 2020, Rapunzel Naturkost repeatedly supported ECOTOP through the HAND IN HAND fund. The RAPUNZEL One World Organic Foundation is intensifying the cooperation through a multi-year sponsorship project. The focus here is on the question of how the findings of dynamic agroforestry – gained in tropical forests – can be transferred to other climate zones.
Support by Rapunzel Naturkost and RAPUNZEL One World Organic Foundation
- 2023–2025 Restoration of degraded ecosystems of the Andean highlands through sustainable quinoa cultivation, Bolivia
- 2020 Training programme for dynamic agroforestry in the Alto Beni region, Bolivia
- 2019 Agroforestry cultivation of quinoa, Altiplano Sur, Bolivia
- 2017 Improving cocoa quality (fermentation and drying) in Tucupi, Bolivia
- 2015 Design and development of a skills course for sustainable agriculture, Bolivia
- 2014 Guidance and assistance in the conversion from conventional to sustainable agriculture through agroforestry, Bolivia
Rapunzel Naturkost has also supported in Bolivia:
- 2013 Cooperativa Villa Prado supply to improve living conditions in the Alto Beni region, Departamento La Paz
- 2013 Cooperativa Villa Prado Feasibility study in preparation for a project to improve the water supply in the Alto Beni region, Departamento La Paz
- 2010 Fundación PIAF - EL CEIBO Promotion of sustainable and ecological cultivation in Alto Beni, Departamento La Paz
- 2008 Regenwald-Institut e.V. Production, processing and marketing of products from agroforestry systems in the Yungas, Departamento La Paz
- 2008 Asociación de Organizaciones de Productores Ecológicos de Bolivia (AOPEB) Sustainable systems for quinoa production in the Salinas de Garcí Mendoza region, Departamento de Oruro
- 2006 Asociación ANAPQUI Reforestation and promotion of the ecological cultivation of quinoa, Departamento Potosí
- 2006 Cooperativa El Ceibo Production of training materials for an organic rice cultivation project, Departamento La Paz
- 2006 Asociación de Organizaciones de Productores Ecológicos de Bolivia (AOPEB) Production of training materials on agroforestry systems, Departamento de Oruro
- 2004 Bäume für Menschen - Trees for the World e.V. Expansion of a tree nursery and planting of 8,000 trees in Santiago de Huari, Departamento Oruro
- 2003 Asociación ANAPQUI Improvement of soil fertility through humus formation in quinoa cultivation, Departamento Potosí
- 2003 Fundación La Paz Support for an early childhood centre and an aid organisation for street children, Departamento La Paz
- 2001 Fundación PIAF - EL CEIBO Promotion of sustainable and ecological cultivation in Alto Beni, Departamento La Paz
Donation account of the
RAPUNZEL One World Organic Foundation
Landesbank Baden-Württemberg
IBAN: DE44 6005 0101 0004 1028 49
SWIFT/BIC: SOLADEST600
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